BHUBANESWAR: The State’s first sports complex for persons with disabilities (PwDs) is all set to come up in Angul soon.
To be set up in Pallahara at a cost of Rs 7 crore, the state-of-the-art facility would be dedicated to training and nurturing athletes with disabilities. The project, which was proposed a year back, received administrative approval of the department of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities on Tuesday.
Officials said the facility will come up on an area of 4.97 acre of land. “It will house world-class infrastructure and coaching staff to provide the best possible training environment for differently-abled athletes. The training will be provided in sports like para archery, para-badminton, wheelchair fencing, sitting volleyball and para table tennis,” they added.
The project was proposed by PwD sportsman and coach Shiba Prasad Das last year at the general body meeting of the State Fund for PwDs. Officials added that the hostel facility will initially accommodate 40 PwD sportspersons and supporting staff. The department on the day asked Angul collector Abdaal M Akhtar to begin work on the complex at the earliest.
Even as the state is emerging as a sports capital of the country and has also produced several national and international-level PwD sportspersons including Paralympic champion Pramod Bhagat, it currently does not have a well-equipped training facility, playground or hostel accommodation for them yet. Earlier, rights activists including members of Odisha Para Players’ Forum had also demanded the department to create barrier-free sports complex-cum-hostel facility for such sportspersons in the state.
A higher official said this is a pivotal step towards providing equal opportunities in sports to sportspersons with disabilities, fostering their talents and encouraging their participation in various sporting disciplines.